About 4,000 people are expected to attend Qatar Foundation (QF) Garangao Night celebrations that will take place at the Al Shaqab Equestrian Centre in Education City today.
This year, the free-to-attend community event, which falls on the 15th night of the holy month of Ramadan, is being hosted by QF for a third time, as part of the organisation’s commitment to providing a year-round calendar of cultural activities that highlight and preserve the very best of Qatari traditions and heritage.
The Garangao celebration is deeply rooted in the Gulf culture. It first began as a daytime festival within tribal communities as both a reward and a distraction for children during fasting hours.
In more recent years, the celebration has evolved into a night-time event during which, Qatari children are adorned in colourful customary attire similar to the clothes worn by their ancestors. Offering traditional songs in exchange for gifts, children collect various nuts, dried fruits and sweets from family, friends and neighbours inside a hand-woven bag placed around their necks.
Amongst the main themes that the Garangao festival promotes are generosity, sharing and community spirit. And this year, QF will look to capture these values by offering a wide and exciting range of activities that highlight the event’s religious and cultural significance at Al Shaqab.
Whilst the traditional event is aimed at children, QF has ensured that its celebrations cater to all members of the family so that the whole community can experience and enjoy Qatari heritage and the Garangao values.
Saad Ebrahim al-Muhannadi, president of Qatar Foundation, said: “Garangao is an annual tradition that highlights the Qatari culture of generosity and giving. In this spirit, the entire Qatar Foundation family will once again come together at Al Shaqab to provide a wealth of educational and engaging activities for members of the public to enjoy during our celebrations.”
During the event, which will begin at 8pm and end at midnight, the community will be transported back in time at a bespoke souq, where children will hear traditional stories and readings from the Holy Qu’ran, and participate in henna and face painting. Adding to the excitement, visitors to the Al Shaqab Equestrian Centre will also be able to experience pony rides, a high performance equestrian display and a horse bouncy castle.
Meanwhile, as a further display of embracing and preserving Qatari culture, QF will be organising a number of traditional games for children to enjoy with their families including, Gaiss (hopscotch), Tagyah, tug-of-war, Dahouri (wheel pushing) Gallinah and Natou. In addition, families will also be able to sample Qatari dishes, including haris, luqaimat, khanfaroush, jarish and traditional Garangao sweets and nuts.
